Council Tools Velvicut 4# Axe

[RossB]

One of my greatest joys is working with my grandfather's tools. I recently built a brick hearth using his old trowel and it just made the entire task much more gratifying. When I went to install the stove, I retrieved his old plumb bob from its designated drawer, unrolled the 50 year old piece of string, and hung it from the ceiling box to find just the right location when placing the stove. I found myself wondering just how many times he had handled that aged piece of steel. Well used, high quality hand tools just resonate with me and while the old guy has been gone for nearly 20 years, I still imagine the smell of his pipe, a handshake that crushed bones, and his boisterous laugh.

Call me overly nostalgic, but someday I want that for my kids and grandkids. To that end, I try to buy the nicest hand tools I can afford and while I buy them to use, I take very good care of them in hopes of handing them down some day. I'd like nothing more than to someday hand my grandson an axe with 30 years of wood splitting under its belt...a handle worn smooth from my own hands, a head that's split a hundred cord, and an edge as sharp as the day it was new.

To that end, I've been eyeballing the Council Tools Velvicut 4# axe. If you believe the Internet, it's made in USA by American artisans and using the highest quality materials. Anyone have one? Any stories? Any recommendations against this company?

 

[ErikR]

My grandfather passed away at the age of 91 when I was 5 (1965). I have only a few memories of him. He worked in logging camps in northern WI and also did some railroad work. He had 2 sons, my father, and my uncle Harry. Both of them have been gone over 20 years. My sister and I inherited the remains of the family belongings. A lot of my grandfathers tools, including a couple of 2 man saws and a few 1 man saws were kept in a shed at the cabin. It's as if he walked out of the woods on his last day of work, sharpened them, set the teeth, oiled them and hung them up. I have recently brought a few of the saws home and have put some of them to use. I also brought home some old Coleman lanterns and an old peavey, Both my father and uncle harry were the type to put things away so that they were ready to go when they were needed the next time. The axes, knives, and hand scythes were all kept razor sharp.

I remember attending a flea market in Washburn, WI with my father. He picked up a small double bit axe head marked with E. Garnich & Sons Hardware Co. Ashland, WI. My dad hung the head on a new handle and gave it to me. At the time, that gift was kind of lost on me. I think I was only 12 or 13 at the time. It wasn't until he passed away in 1991 that I became sentimental over that axe. I still have it and use it as my kindling splitter, it's my favorite!

I also have their 1950 Allis-Chlalmers B tractor parked in my garage. It used to run beautifully until I asked a friend to store it in his garage over the winter for me while I moved... Needless to say, it was left outside with the exhaust uncovered...It's in the middle of a rebuild now!


So, yes, if you have kids or are going to have grand kids someday, spend some money on some quality items, use them, keep them in nice shape, have some stories to go with them, and when the time is right.... pass them along!